Visiting Speaker Series

The Centre for Magic and Esotericism runs regular events with visiting speakers. Please see below for upcoming talks.

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2nd October 2024: Dr Simon Magus

IAIS Lecture theatres, October 2nd, in person only

4.15pm                Refreshments in the IAIS Common Room

5pm                      Event starts

6pm                      Discussion

ABSTRACT

Since the early 1990s, Western esotericism has become an established academic discipline. Typically, in Europe, it has been fostered as a trajectory under the auspices of Religious Studies.

This lecture will consider the broad historical swathe of the development of Western esotericism, from the early ‘Christian Esotericism’ of the euonymous François Secret (1911-2003), through its foundation as a discipline by Antoine Faivre (1934-2021) notably with his Accès de l’ésotérisme occidental (1986), to the present day. It discusses Faivre’s notion of an air de famille for the connectivity of a diverse grouping of esoteric subjects, along with his criteria for what constitutes esotericism and their subsequent critique. It considers the scope of the original historical shape of the study: its tendency to shift abruptly from the Neoplatonism of the first few centuries AD, to its rediscovery in the Florentine quattrocento, neglecting the medieval period – a situation which has been resolving in recent years. 

The lecture will consider some of the historicist aporias and problematics which have arisen over the years, and their attempted resolution. Most notable in this regard is the attempted definition of ‘esotericism’ itself: as ‘Secret Knowledge’ (von Stuckrad); as ‘Rejected Knowledge; (Hanegraaff); as an ‘Empty Signifier’ (Burgunder), and in terms of ‘Cognitive Structures’ (Asprem). In this context, we consider what might be termed the ‘idolatry of definition’ which has led Wouter Hanegraaff to speculate on its ‘unnecessity’. We also consider the paradox posed by the search for a singular definition in the presence of the post-modernist emphasis on pluralism, and its tendency to view a single answer as essentialism.

The discussion broadens to consider esotericism in the wider cultural context, particularly with regard to Max Weber’s concept of die Entzauberung der Welt (the ‘Disenchantment of the World’), and Egil Asprem’s responsa. We further consider the importance of a number of dialectical polarities and intrinsic tensions in academic discourse: the scholar-practitioner divide and its incumbent emic-etic dichotomy, and the notions of ‘occulture’ versus the ‘occult milieu’ amongst others. In particular, we focus on the vexed question of the ‘Western’ epithet in ‘Western esotericism’ – an often polemical debate which is already in its second decade. In this context, we provide a critique of what is often seen as the canonical concept of Saidian Orientalism, and consider esotericism’s role in response to globalisation and anti-globalisation. We conclude with an examination of the emergent trajectories in Western esotericism, notably those evolving from Gender Studies, Esotericism and Literature, and Esotericism and Art.

11th November 2024: Dr Salam Rassi

IAIS Lecture theatres, November 11th, in person only

4.15pm                Refreshments in the IAIS Common Room

5pm                      Event starts

6pm                      Discussion

The making of the elixir was one of alchemy’s paramount goals. From its earliest days, practitioners of the ‘Art’ debated the base materials of this elusive transmuting agent, known by various names, including the Philosophers’ Stone. By the Islamic period, this debate appeared to reach a conclusion. In works attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (d. 808, 812, or 815), an organic alchemy emerged, focusing on the use of animal products (e.g., blood, urine, crania, and hair) for making the elixir, rather than mineral substances.

The Jābirian corpus defends this approach by appealing to ancient (mostly pseudo-epigraphic) sources and more rigorous arguments derived from experimentation. This shift towards organic alchemy sparked considerable debate, particularly from the 10th-century alchemist Muḥammad ibn Umayl, known in the West as ‘Senior Zadith’ and referenced in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In one work, Ibn Umayl fiercely criticises the use of what he sees as impure substances. He claims that the organic alchemists had misconstrued the enigmas of the ancients, particularly those of late antique Egyptian authorities. Ibn Umayl also makes several religiously charged statements against his rivals, questioning how a divine craft, revealed to prophets and imams, could involve such impurities.

While most studies have explored the contested nature of alchemy as a science, few have examined the diverse and often divisive character of Arabic alchemical writing. My paper argues that debates over the prima materia of the elixir highlight the problematic nature of alchemy’s foundational texts. Frequently written in cryptic language, these texts were open to multiple interpretations, leading to disagreements over method that arose as much from esoteric exegesis as from experimental observation